Of Mathematicians and Lizards
by A. Kingsleigh
Summary: Left alone in her tower with only a dreary book for company, six-year-old Rapunzel makes an astonishing discovery. Oneshot about how Rapunzel and Pascal the Chameleon first met.


**YEEE-HOOOO! My category was accepted! Thus, having submitted said category, plus the fact that I saw the movie and loved it, I shall innaugurate our proud new category with its first story, which encompasses a simple subject; how Rapunzel and Pascal met. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: Tangled is not mine. If it was, that darn kingdom would have a name, trust me.

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"...There are then two kinds of intellect, the one able to pe-ne-trate a...cute-lee and deeply into the con-cloo-sions of given prem-ee-sees, and this is the precise intellect. The other able to comp-ree-hend a great number of prem-ee-sees without confusing them, and this is the...ma-the-mat..._huh?"_

The tiny, blonde, green-eyed girl of six years had a problem. Her mother had left their tower the day before, taking all the girl's favorite books with her, to get them fixed, as they were worn out already.

"You'll find something else to read, Rapunzel," the girl's mother had said before her departure. "That's just who you are."

Her mother's words echoing in her head, young Rapunzel set out to do just that - find another book. She practically turned the tower upside down, but found only one book, the one she was trying (and failing) to read. It was the thickest book she'd seen in her whole life. It had a red leather cover with the word_ Pensées_ on the front in gold letters, and the name _Blaise Pascal_ under that. Rapunzel had no idea what the Pensées were, nor what a Blaise Pascal was, but she set out to read the book anyway. Now she was wishing she hadn't.

Rapunzel slammed the book angrily and stomped to the tower window, her favorite spot. "Stupid book," she muttered, looking outside. "Stupid Pascal, stupid Mother...why'd she take all the _good_ stories?"

The young girl sat moping like this until...

_Erk!_

Rapunzel whirled around, letting out a little shriek. What was that noise? It had come from inside the tower.

Hesitantly, she looked around. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. She stepped away from the window and walked about for a few moments, getting a better look at everything.

_My head must be going crazy. Probably that stupid book's fault,_ she decided.

_ERK!_

No, there it was. It was louder this time, and coming from the rafters. Bracing herself for the worst, Rapunzel slowly looked up.

At first, the rafters looked fine. But then Rapunzel noticed a small lump on one of them. A lump which suddenly opened its eyes, detached itself from the rafter, and fell down onto her head.

Rapunzel screamed in terror, and the thing screamed back. She frantically knocked it off her head, and it landed on the hated book. The creature shivered in fear, blinked at her...then _changed its color_. It was brown, the color of the rafters, but its body quickly brightened to a vibrant green.

Rapunzel stared in wonder, her eyes almost bursting from their sockets. This had to be some kind of _fairy!_ But in her stories, fairies were always beautiful...this looked more like a lizard. Then she realized: it _was_ a lizard! She'd seen it in a book!

"I know what you are," she said to the lizard. "You're a kuh-mee-lee-un. You can change your color. You're nice...sorry I got scared, Mr. Kuh-Me-Lee-Un."

The chameleon looked at her, smiled and nodded happily. As if to prove itself, it turned purple, the color of Rapunzel's dress.

Rapunzel giggled. "Yep, you're definitely nice!"

The chameleon chirped gleefully, then his look of happiness changed to one of awe as he noticed the girl's golden tresses.

Wondering what was wrong, Rapunzel looked down at her hair. _"Ohhhh,"_ she said knowingly. "My hair's kinda weird. It's really long, and it glows when I sing a special song. Mother says we can't cut it, or it won't be long and glowy anymore, and it looks so nice when it's long and glowy. The last time we measured it, she said it was eight-and twenty feet. That's almost thirty! Well, I think."

She looked down at the chameleon and realized something. "I have weird hair, and you can change your color...we're both a little different, aren't we?"

The chameleon looked at her, cocking his head as though he was seriously contemplating this question, then jumped from the book to Rapunzel's lap and licked her hand with his long tongue.

"...And you've got a weird tongue, too!" laughed Rapunzel. "I guess that's 'yes' in kuh-me-lee-un."

She paused, unsure if she wanted to continue. But she wanted to. "...You know, I've been in this tower my whole life. I haven't had any friends...will you be my friend?"

In response, the chameleon gave her an enthusiastic, gummy smile which could only be described as _friendly._

Rapunzel gave a friendly smile right back, then began to carefully pet the chameleon. "You need a name, friend. Calling you 'Mr. Kuh-Mee-Lee-Un' is a bit of a mouthful. What names do you like?"

The chameleon jumped back to the book and began to study its cover.

"Why are you looking at that stupid book?"

The chameleon pointed with its tale to one of the words..._Pascal._

"Pascal? Is that what you want?"

He nodded.

"Okay, then, your name is Pascal. Hi, Pascal, my name's Rapunzel."

Pascal chirped again, then used his head to push open the book, to a page Rapunzel hadn't reached. The page read, _'The heart has its feelings, which reason does not know. We feel it in a thousand things.'_

"What the heck does _that_ mean?" asked Rapunzel as she read the sentence. Pascal just shrugged.

"Wait, were you watching me read?"

_Erk._

"Did you see me get mad and give up?"

_Erk._

"...Do you want me to try again?"

_ERK!_

"...Okay...but you're reading with me, Pascal!"

And with that, the two new friends leaned over the book, furrowed their brows in concentration, and dug into Blaise Pascal's _Pensées_. It took a while to get used to the language, but when they finally did, they smiled at the parts they understood, laughed at the parts they didn't, and above all, they had _fun_. They continued to have fun for many hours, until they heard -

"RAPUNZEEEELLLLL! I'M BAAAACK!"

Rapunzel looked up from the book in shock. "Quick, you need to hide, Pascal! My mommy doesn't like lizards!"

Pascal squawked in acquiescence and scurried into a corner, throwing one last kind look at her before he vanished.

Rapunzel's mother had returned with all her books, and then some. Joyful beyond words, Rapunzel hugged and kissed her mother, thanking her over and over, then blissfully admired her new books all night. When her mother had gone to bed, she heard a familiar _erk_-ing from above her bed.

These books, she knew, were extra special.

She finally had someone to share them with.

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**Well? Whaddaya think? Love it? Hate it? Does justice to the movie? Puts the movie through a shredder? Please review! Oh, and special thanks to Wikiquote for providing the passages from**_** Pensées **_**by Blaise Pascal. Bye-bye!**

**~A. Kingsleigh**


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